Explore the fascinating links between Plato's 'Allegory of the Cave' and modern pop culture, including 'The Matrix.' Delve into the challenges of transitioning from ignorance to enlightenment. Discover the universal themes of growth and knowledge in both philosophical and biblical narratives. Unpack how filmmakers reflect these profound concepts, drawing parallels to our own faith journeys. This thought-provoking discussion sets the stage for deeper insights into personal struggles and the pursuit of truth.

Subscriber-only episodeSend us a Positive Review!Series Title: Vertical Development & the LDS Faith Journey with Ryan Gottfredson [Part I of IV]In this Advanced Content *Exclusive* and final episode of this series focused on better understanding the crucial importance of psychological (vertical) development within the context of the LDS church, Valerie and colleague Ryan Gottfredson apply all of the concepts tackled thus far in the the series to the potential of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were vertical development valued at every level of the church.  Ryan emphasizes characteristics of the rare but incredibly powerful attributes of the most influential and respected leaders with whom he has worked as a consultant and shares the impact that a psychologically healthy leader has on those whom they lead and on the overall health of their organizations.  **More sensitive or more psychologically advanced themes are saved for paid Friday episodes to protect the content creators from being mischaracterized by less familiar consumers.**LEARN HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO FRIDAY EPISODES(Watch a 2-minute how-to video)THEN subscribe to Fridays here. TROUBLE WITH YOUR SUBSCRIPTION? Email: support@buzzsprout.comCONSULTING: Interested in doing individual or couples work with Valerie or a member of her trained team? Time-limited packages with Valerie and extended work with her team of coaches and therapists are available ⁠⁠here!⁠ SUPPORT GROUPS: Next support & processing group coming March 2025. To register/learn more, visit here.OFFICE HOURS FOR FRIDAY SUBSCRIBERS: Register here.CLASSES: Visit our library.SUPPORT: Make a one-time donation to ⁠her business Venmo...

Send us a Positive Review!Series Title: Vertical Development & the LDS Faith Journey with Ryan Gottfredson [Part III of IV]In this episode, Valerie and Ryan expand on the characteristics of a vertically developing mind. This episode highlights the characteristics of the most psychologically developed mind--characteristics that embody only 1% of the population!  This "mind 3.0" values contributing to the world in meaningful ways, interdependent thinking, embracing vulnerability, and holding loving space for experiences and perspectives that vary (even in Sunday school!!).  Val and Ryan also explore how and why trauma [individually, generationally, and systemically] stagnates vertical development.  This series wraps up on Friday with an inspiring final episode that you don’t want to miss. Valerie and Ryan integrate these "big ideas" about vertical development into the Latter-day Saint setting and explore how a vertically developing membership and leadership could contribute to unprecedented relational and spiritual expansion and satisfaction in our faith community.  Support the show**More sensitive or more psychologically advanced themes are saved for paid Friday episodes to protect the content creators from being mischaracterized by less familiar consumers.**LEARN HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO FRIDAY EPISODES(Watch a 2-minute how-to video)THEN subscribe to Fridays here. TROUBLE WITH YOUR SUBSCRIPTION? Email: support@buzzsprout.comCONSULTING: Interested in doing individual or couples work with Valerie or a member of her trained team? Time-limited packages with Valerie and extended work with her team of coaches and therapists are available ⁠⁠here!⁠ SUPPORT GROUPS: Next support & processing group coming March 2025. To register/learn more, visit here.OFFICE HOURS FOR FRIDAY SUBSCRIBERS: Register here.CLASSES: Visit our library.SUPPORT: Make a one-time donation to ⁠her business Venmo...

Subscriber-only episodeSend us a Positive Review!Series Title: Vertical Development & the LDS Faith Journey with Ryan Gottfredson [Part II of IV]Welcome to this episode where Valerie and guest author and scholar Ryan Gottfredson dive deeper into how a focus on human psychological development can help individuals and organizations thrive.  They discuss the progression of mind development from hyper-dependence (mind 1.0) to hyper-independence (mind 2.0), emphasizing the need for a healthier balance and the importance of reaching mind 3.0 (interdependence). A key focus in this episode is a respectful but candid look into how these developmental stages show up in a variety of ways in the operations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Val and Ryan discuss the prevalence of mind 1.0 and mind 2.0 characteristics within the church at multiple levels and the likely impact that unresolved collective intergenerational trauma has on the church's ability to reach its developmental potential at present. They advocate for addressing these issues to enable the church and its constituents to interact ethically with one another and with the world at large.  **More sensitive or more psychologically advanced themes are saved for paid Friday episodes to protect the content creators from being mischaracterized by less familiar consumers.**LEARN HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO FRIDAY EPISODES(Watch a 2-minute how-to video)THEN subscribe to Fridays here. TROUBLE WITH YOUR SUBSCRIPTION? Email: support@buzzsprout.comCONSULTING: Interested in doing individual or couples work with Valerie or a member of her trained team? Time-limited packages with Valerie and extended work with her team of coaches and therapists are available ⁠⁠here!⁠ SUPPORT GROUPS: Next support & processing group coming March 2025. To register/learn more, visit here.OFFICE HOURS FOR FRIDAY SUBSCRIBERS: Register here.CLASSES: Visit our library.SUPPORT: Make a one-time donation to ⁠her business Venmo...

Send us a Positive Review!Series Title: Vertical Development & the LDS Faith Journey with Ryan Gottfredson [Part I of IV]In this opening episode [of a four-part series], Valerie welcomes organizational psychologist Ryan Gottfredson for a fascinating study of how our level of psychological development impacts how we (our loved ones, our friends, and our church!) navigate religion and spirituality.  This episode is a broad overview of Ryan's scholarship, found in his book "The Elevated Leader" and sets the stage for their in-depth conversation in the following three episodes tackling each stage of vertical development and why so many don't reach their developmental potential. Throughout this series, Valerie and Ryan discuss the intersection of leadership, organizational behavior, and faith systems, highlighting the significance of holistic development in personal, family, and faith systems.  The final episode integrates the concept of vertical development into specifics of the LDS church, offering insights into how a better understanding of human development might help our system support the growth and thriving of all connected to the church.  Support the show**More sensitive or more psychologically advanced themes are saved for paid Friday episodes to protect the content creators from being mischaracterized by less familiar consumers.**LEARN HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO FRIDAY EPISODES(Watch a 2-minute how-to video)THEN subscribe to Fridays here. TROUBLE WITH YOUR SUBSCRIPTION? Email: support@buzzsprout.comCONSULTING: Interested in doing individual or couples work with Valerie or a member of her trained team? Time-limited packages with Valerie and extended work with her team of coaches and therapists are available ⁠⁠here!⁠ SUPPORT GROUPS: Next support & processing group coming March 2025. To register/learn more, visit here.OFFICE HOURS FOR FRIDAY SUBSCRIBERS: Register here.CLASSES: Visit our library.SUPPORT: Make a one-time donation to ⁠her business Venmo...

Subscriber-only episodeSend us a Positive Review!Series Title: Redefining Spiritual Experiences [Part II of II]In this episode, Valerie and Nathan continue making sense of the struggle that many faith-expanding LDS (and surrounding) people have regarding past and present spiritual experiences. Sharing personal experiences of their own faith journeys, they open up about how their relationship to spiritual impressions, prayer, and personal revelation has moved from isolated experiences to more of an acknowledgement of ongoing divine connection. The episode ends with a conversation about how families can continue to work toward unity and community even when different family members' perspectives and interpretations of spiritual experience and personal revelation vastly differ. **More sensitive or more psychologically advanced themes are saved for paid Friday episodes to protect the content creators from being mischaracterized by less familiar consumers.**LEARN HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO FRIDAY EPISODES(Watch a 2-minute how-to video)THEN subscribe to Fridays here. TROUBLE WITH YOUR SUBSCRIPTION? Email: support@buzzsprout.comCONSULTING: Interested in doing individual or couples work with Valerie or a member of her trained team? Time-limited packages with Valerie and extended work with her team of coaches and therapists are available ⁠⁠here!⁠ SUPPORT GROUPS: Next support & processing group coming March 2025. To register/learn more, visit here.OFFICE HOURS FOR FRIDAY SUBSCRIBERS: Register here.CLASSES: Visit our library.SUPPORT: Make a one-time donation to ⁠her business Venmo...

Send us a Positive Review!Series Title: Redefining Spiritual Experiences [Part I of II]In this episode of Latter Day Struggles, Valerie and Nathan respond to a very common question that people in early faith crisis often ask:  "What do I make of my former spiritual experiences?"  This two part series tackles many aspects of this perplexing aspect of faith expansion.  Val and Nathan talk about the feelings of confusion that many feel about early faith defining experiences.  They talk about other feelings that come including mistrust in oneself, one's feelings, one's former answers, one's capacity to get guidance, and sometimes mistrust in God. They offer thoughts around how many of us were taught to discern truth and how the spiritual journey is all about working through past experiences, emotions, and interpretations of our experiences as necessary for our growth into spiritually complex beings.  You definitely won't want to miss Part II in this Friday’s subscriber-exclusive episode either, where Valerie and Nathan delve deeper into how to move from a transactional relationship with God that was often connected to former spiritual experiences and how the faith journey is about expanding one's capacity to embody spiritual experiences rather than just having them.  They also touch on how to navigate relationship impasses with others who cannot understand our journeys due to their own spiritual experiences.  Support the show**More sensitive or more psychologically advanced themes are saved for paid Friday episodes to protect the content creators from being mischaracterized by less familiar consumers.**LEARN HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO FRIDAY EPISODES(Watch a 2-minute how-to video)THEN subscribe to Fridays here. TROUBLE WITH YOUR SUBSCRIPTION? Email: support@buzzsprout.comCONSULTING: Interested in doing individual or couples work with Valerie or a member of her trained team? Time-limited packages with Valerie and extended work with her team of coaches and therapists are available ⁠⁠here!⁠ SUPPORT GROUPS: Next support & processing group coming March 2025. To register/learn more, visit here.OFFICE HOURS FOR FRIDAY SUBSCRIBERS: Register here.CLASSES: Visit our library.SUPPORT: Make a one-time donation to ⁠her business Venmo...

Subscriber-only episodeSend us a Positive Review!Series Title: Moving Beyond the Transactional Gospel [Part II of II]In this follow up episode Valerie and guest Steve Young delve into more specific examples related to the power of moving away from seeing the world through the lens of transaction and towards embodying more purely the teachings of Jesus Christ defined by unconditional love.   With personal examples from his own journey, Steve and Val hone in on four concepts that have shaped Steve's own spiritual life and personal work:  gentle persuasion, meekness, long suffering and love unfeigned.  This discussion exemplifies how one can commit to personal discipleship and practice these principles in their own realms--whether it be in personal relationships, professionally, or in formal spiritual settings.  Val and Steve's hope in this series is to ignite further interest in first seeing more clearly where transaction exists, articulating how this way of relating is spiritually damning, and inviting each of us and our religious system into a higher, holier way of discipleship.  **More sensitive or more psychologically advanced themes are saved for paid Friday episodes to protect the content creators from being mischaracterized by less familiar consumers.**LEARN HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO FRIDAY EPISODES(Watch a 2-minute how-to video)THEN subscribe to Fridays here. TROUBLE WITH YOUR SUBSCRIPTION? Email: support@buzzsprout.comCONSULTING: Interested in doing individual or couples work with Valerie or a member of her trained team? Time-limited packages with Valerie and extended work with her team of coaches and therapists are available ⁠⁠here!⁠ SUPPORT GROUPS: Next support & processing group coming March 2025. To register/learn more, visit here.OFFICE HOURS FOR FRIDAY SUBSCRIBERS: Register here.CLASSES: Visit our library.SUPPORT: Make a one-time donation to ⁠her business Venmo...

Send us a Positive Review!Series Title: Moving Beyond the Transactional Gospel [Part I of II]Is it time to graduate from your "Pee Wee" (aka "beginner level" for all of you non-football players) level of discipleship?  If you're listening to this podcast, we are pretty sure the answer is a resounding YES!  Bring on the Pro-Level! In this enlightening episode of Latter Day Struggles, Valerie welcomes special guest Steve Young to delve into the transformative power of love within the context of faith expansion in and around the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Together they explore ideas from Steve's book, "The Law of Love," highlighting the journey from transaction towards an upward leaning desire towards selfless love as the foundation of all belief and relationship.  Together, they address the inevitable anxieties surrounding non-transactional relationships with God and challenge listeners to embrace a higher, more intimate relationship with the divine, moving away from prescriptive (transactional) guidelines towards personal, holistic engagement with self, faith, others, and ultimately with God. This episode offers a profound perspective on love's capacity to evoke authenticity and divine potential in ourselves and others.  Friday's episode is a tender conversation between Steve and Val where they share how their own strivings to embody the Law of Love has changed them and enriched their relationships.   Support the show**More sensitive or more psychologically advanced themes are saved for paid Friday episodes to protect the content creators from being mischaracterized by less familiar consumers.**LEARN HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO FRIDAY EPISODES(Watch a 2-minute how-to video)THEN subscribe to Fridays here. TROUBLE WITH YOUR SUBSCRIPTION? Email: support@buzzsprout.comCONSULTING: Interested in doing individual or couples work with Valerie or a member of her trained team? Time-limited packages with Valerie and extended work with her team of coaches and therapists are available ⁠⁠here!⁠ SUPPORT GROUPS: Next support & processing group coming March 2025. To register/learn more, visit here.OFFICE HOURS FOR FRIDAY SUBSCRIBERS: Register here.CLASSES: Visit our library.SUPPORT: Make a one-time donation to ⁠her business Venmo...

Subscriber-only episodeSend us a Positive Review!Series Title: A Study of Loyalty [Part II of II]In this advanced content exclusive part two of this series, Valerie and Nathan continue to analyze the complexities of loyalty and how and when it can clash with personal integrity. Together, they explore the potential conflicts arising when loyalty is prioritized over love within church institutions, and particularly how this near enemy attribute can be encouraged when discussing sensitive issues related to the LGBTQ community, a struggle owning complex historical issues, and other topics that would require openness, transparency, and full accountability for our system to meet its true potential as a place of spiritual health and healing. As always, their conversation emphasizes the necessity of open dialogue, respect,  and love-based virtues to foster a truly healthy spiritual community within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  **More sensitive or more psychologically advanced themes are saved for paid Friday episodes to protect the content creators from being mischaracterized by less familiar consumers.**LEARN HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO FRIDAY EPISODES(Watch a 2-minute how-to video)THEN subscribe to Fridays here. TROUBLE WITH YOUR SUBSCRIPTION? Email: support@buzzsprout.comCONSULTING: Interested in doing individual or couples work with Valerie or a member of her trained team? Time-limited packages with Valerie and extended work with her team of coaches and therapists are available ⁠⁠here!⁠ SUPPORT GROUPS: Next support & processing group coming March 2025. To register/learn more, visit here.OFFICE HOURS FOR FRIDAY SUBSCRIBERS: Register here.CLASSES: Visit our library.SUPPORT: Make a one-time donation to ⁠her business Venmo...